Swallowing The Evidence
by yellowrose900
Summary: I know I have already posted a story about the Burke's adopting Satchmo, but I thought of this idea and had to share it.   In this one, Neal plays a big part in them meeting the dog.   It is set pre-series, Neal is still on the run.
1. Chapter 1

**Swallowing The Evidence**

Summary: I know I have already posted a story about the Burke's adopting Satchmo, but I thought of this idea and had to share it. In this one, Neal plays a big part in them meeting the dog. It is set pre-series, Neal is still on the run.

NOTE: I know Neal did not get the Fedora hat until the series started, but I love him in it. He is so cute wearing it. So I added it to this story.

NOTE: I also know that on the show, Neal and Elizabeth meet for the first time after Neal is released from prison. But I changed that in this story.

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Neal Caffrey smiled as he walked down the sidewalk, life was good. He had just stolen eighty thousand dollars worth of diamonds; they were nestled safely in the inside lining of his expensive jacket.

All he had to do was make it back to the apartment he was staying at without rousing anyone's suspicion, no problem at all. Then his smile quickly faded and he stopped walking.

"Damnit." Neal mumbled, when he saw a very familiar figure racing towards him.

"Freeze Caffrey!" Agent Peter Burke shouted, as he ran towards the younger man. "You're surrounded!"

Neal looked around, and sure enough, he saw several FBI agents closing in on him.

"Time to play." Neal said to himself, his smile returning. He tipped his hat to Peter, then turned and ran in the opposite direction. Several agents followed him.

Neal ran into an alley, between two apartment buildings, then grabbed a hold of the fire escape ladder and started climbing.

""Caffrey, I will shoot!" Peter yelled, as he entered the alley. But Neal kept climbing. He had been running from Peter for awhile now, he knew the agent wouldn't shoot unless he had to. He knew Peter Burke wasn't a killer.

"Damnit." Peter mumbled as he too started climbing the ladder.

Neal made it to the roof top, then ran across it. One of the first lessons about life as a con artist he had learned was to always have an escape plan. He had done his research, he knew all of the buildings and alleys between the jewelry store he ripped off and the apartment he was staying at.

Neal picked up speed, then jumped when he made it to the edge of the roof. He landed on the rooftop of the next building, and kept running until he was halfway across it. Then he turned and watched Peter.

Peter skidded to a stop at the edge of the building and looked in disbelief at the conman. Even from that distance, Peter knew the younger man had that ridicules smile on his face. He hated that smile.

Neal tipped his hat again and Peter saw red, he was not going to let Caffrey get away again. Peter backed up several yards to get a running start, then he too ran and leaped. He landed on the other rooftop with a thud, then stood and ran towards the stunned conman.

Neal hadn't thought he would actually try the jump, he was impressed. Neal turned and ran, time for plan B. This was going to be fun. He ran across the roof, then made another jump to the next roof. The distance was a few feet wider, and Neal had to grab a hold of the fire escape on the other building to keep from falling.

Peter saw the jump, but did not see Neal grab onto the fire escape. He picked up speed, then jumped. Peter knew he was going to miss the rooftop and started reaching for the building, but started falling. He fell right into an opened dumpster, the lid slammed shut after he fell. Peter was in the dark.

With a loud string of curses, Peter opened the lid and stood up. He looked up and saw Neal standing on top of the roof. The younger man took off his Fedora, then bowed. Then he disappeared.

/

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A short time later, Neal was sitting on a sofa. The diamonds were spilt out on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

"Not bad, Neal." He said to himself, as he picked up one of the diamonds. They were small, but expensive.

He heard a knock on the front door and quickly grabbed his jacket off of the back of the sofa and covered up the diamonds, then he stood and walked over to the door. He looked out the peephole and saw a young boy who lived a few doors down. He had three puppies in a wagon he was pulling.

"Hello Jason." Neal smiled, after opening the door.

"Hi Nick." The boy said.

"What have you got there?" Neal nodded towards the wagon, smiling when one of the puppies jumped from the wagon and ran into Neal's apartment.

"Puppies." The kid replied. "Lady's puppies are weaned and Daddy said I had to give them away, the apartment's not big enough for all of them. I have three left, do you want one?"

"Sorry, Jason." Neal said. "I move around too much, it wouldn't be fair to the puppy."

"Okay." The boy sighed.

"I'll go get him for you." Neal said, walking back into the apartment. He saw the puppy standing on the coffee table and rushed to him. The conman cursed softly under his breath when he noticed that several of the small diamonds were missing. "You didn't." He whispered, picking the puppy up.

Neal scanned the area, but the diamonds were gone. The only thing he could think of was that the puppy ate the diamonds.

"Looks like I have a puppy." Neal mumbled, walking back to the door.

"I changed my mind, Jason." Neal smiled. "This little guy s cute, I think I'll keep him."

"Great." The boy smiled brightly. "Thanks Nick."

"Thank you, Jason."

The young boy left, pulling the wagon and two remaining puppies. Neal shut the door and held the little yellow puppy up to his eye level and glared at him.

"I should just lock you in a small closet until the diamonds work their way trough your system." Neal said. The puppy whined a little, then started licking Neal's face. Neal couldn't stay mad at the little puppy and started laughing.

"Okay, Pup." He said, petting the animal. "You win."

Neal sat on the sofa, still holding the puppy. He picked up the remaining diamonds and placed them back into a satin pouch.

"Well, Pup." He said. "You have swallowed five diamonds, worth about fifty thousand dollars." Then he sighed. "And I am going to have to play in dog poop in order to get them back."

The puppy started wiggling and Neal sat him on the floor. Then he laughed when the little puppy started running around the room.

"I guess you need puppy food and other stuff, huh." Neal stood up, then bent down and picked the puppy back up. "There's a pet store down the block, they should have everything you need." He carried the puppy into the bathroom and sat him down in the bath tub, it was deep and Neal didn't think he could get out. "I don't want a mess to clean up when I get back."

/

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Peter was ticked. Caffrey had slipped away again, and he had wound up in a dumpster. Sometimes life just wasn't fair. But he was not willing to give up, Peter Burke didn't know the meaning of the word defeat. He was currently driving around in the area he believed Caffrey was staying.

He smiled and pulled over to the curb and stopped when he spotted the man in question. Caffrey was walking down the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street.

"Gotcha, Caffrey." Peter said, as he dialed Jones' number on his cell phone. He told the younger agent where he was and gave him instructions to set up a trap for the con artist.

Peter watched as Caffrey walked into a pet store, wondering what the man was up to. Several minutes later, he saw the younger man walk out of the store carrying two large bags.

Peter climbed out of his car and crossed the street, then followed Neal. He followed him to an apartment building and then into the building, and right to the room he was staying in.

"You are going down this time, Caffrey." Peter said softly. "You will not get away."

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Neal walked into his apartment and frowned at the yellow puddle in the middle of the floor. He heard barking, then saw the puppy running towards him. He stopped in front of the man and looked up at him wagging his small tail.

"You peed in the floor." Neal said, sternly.

The puppy continued to wag his tail happily.

"Bad puppy." Neal said, wagging a finger at him.

The puppy sat down and started whining, looking up at Neal with big eyes.

"I'm not mad." Neal sighed, picking him up and cuddling him. "It's okay, Pup."

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Peter and Jones were sitting in a car across the street from Neal's apartment building.

"There he is." Peter said, as he saw the conman walk out the building. He was carrying a small yellow puppy on a leash.

"Where did the dog come from?" Jones asked.

"No idea." Peter replied, as they watched Neal sat the puppy down on the sidewalk.

Neal walked the puppy up and down the sidewalk for over half an hour, then the puppy squatted down and pooped. Neal quickly used rubbed gloves and a small scoop to place the poop into a plastic bag. Then he picked the puppy up and carried him back inside.

"That was weird." Jones said.

"Yeah, even for Caffrey." Peter agreed. "We move in now."

/

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Neal was standing beside the counter, pouring puppy food into a dog bowl he had bought at the pet store. The puppy was once again in the bath tube, which now had a blanket laid across the top of it to prevent the puppy from escaping.

Neal's phone rung and he answered it, after checking the caller id.

"Hey Mozzie." He said. "You will never guess what I'm doing right now."

"Yes I can." Mozzie's voice said. "You are about to get arrested by Burke."

"What?"

"Burke and five more agents are closing in."

"Thanks Mozz." Neal hung up, then started to run into the bathroom to grab the puppy. But the front door busted open and Burke and Jones ran in.

Neal turned and ran into the bedroom, locking and barricading the door behind him..

"There's no escape, Caffrey!" Burke shouted, as him and Jones gave chase.

Neal opened the bedroom window and climbed out onto the fire escape. He started to climb down, but saw two FBI agents standing on the ground looking up at him. so he climbed up, reaching the roof top and looking around. He saw the door leading back into the building and ran for it, but before he got to it, it opened and another FBI agent walked out onto the roof.

Neal skidded to a halt, then turned and ran in the opposite direction. He found another fire escape and started to climb onto it, but another agent was standing about half way down.

The young conman was running out of options. With a deep sigh, he ran to the other side of the roof and looked down. There was a large dumpster there, with the lid opened.

"Freeze Caffrey." Peter said, as he made it to the roof top. "All of the exits are blocked, there is no way you can get past us."

Neal looked at him, and smiled.

"There's one way." He said.

"No there isn't." Peter replied.

"I guess it's only fair." The younger man said, taking a step backwards. "But my suits are more expensive to replace then yours." He tipped his hat, then stepped back again. Right off of the roof.

Neal landed in the dumpster, then quickly climbed out and ran down the ally. Peter ran to the edge of the roof and saw him running away, he knew he would never catch him even if he jumped. Neal Caffrey was gone.

/

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A few minutes later, Neal and Mozzie were sitting at a back booth of a little café.

"Where you able to retain possession of the diamonds during your hurried departure?" Mozzie asked.

"I have about thirty thousand dollars worth."

"And the other fifty thousand?"

"Pup swallowed them."

"Huh?" Mozzie asked, giving the younger man a confused look. Mozzie was not usually speechless, but he was then.

"Short version." Neal said. "A kid was giving away puppies, one of the puppies ate the diamonds, I kept the puppy, now Burke has the puppy."

"Does the suit know the puppy swallowed the diamonds?" Mozzie asked.

"He's smart, he'll figure it out."

"Then we have to get the puppy back before the diamonds are…um…produced."

/

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Peter and Jones went back to Neal's apartment, Peter was really ticked.

"I can't believe he got away again." Peter grumbled.

They started looking around, when they heard whining coming from the bathroom. They went in the room and Jones removed the blanket covering the bathtub.

"What is Caffrey doing with a puppy?' Jones asked.

Peter was about to say he didn't know, then it struck him. "It has to be it." He said with a smile.

"What has to be it?"

"Remember that kid we saw walking down the sidewalk with two puppies in the wagon?"

"Yeah, this one must be their brother."

"My guess is the kid brought the puppies here to offer Caffrey one, and some kind of way the puppy swallowed the diamonds."

"That's why he was so quick to gather the dog crap." Jones said, also smiling.

"We have him walking the puppy on tape." Peter said. "All we have to do is get the diamonds and we can tie Caffrey to the crime. Then we have him on forgery and on stealing the diamonds."

"I so did not join the bureau to watch a dog do his business." Jones said.

"Me neither." Then his smile got wider. "I'll assign a probie to doggie duty."

"It's good to be boss isn't it?"

"Oh yeah."

Peter looked down at the small puppy. "If this works, I might just make you an agent."

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TBC. What do you think? I will post more as soon as I can.


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry about the delay in updating, hope it was worth the wait.

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Peter walked into the squad room carrying the puppy and a large bag of puppy supplies, El was in the room talking to one of the agents.

"Peter." The woman smiled, walking over to her husband. "I came to see if you wanted to have lunch with me." She smiled at the small puppy in his arms and gently took him from Peter. "He is so adorable." She cooed, cuddling the animal.

"He's part of a case." Peter explained. "Can you keep an eye on him while I talk to Hughes? Then we can have lunch."

"Sure Honey." El said, still cuddling the puppy.

"I can't believe I'm saying this." Peter said. "But I need to examine anything that comes out of him."

"What?" El asked, slightly confused.

"I think he may have swallowed some evidence."

"I hope it's nothing that can hurt him." She said, worriedly.

"No, the diamonds are pretty small."

"Diamonds." El smiled. "I knew I liked this adorable puppy for a reason."

Peter kissed her, then went up the stairs to Hughes' office. Once in the older man's office, Peter explained everything that happened.

"If we get the diamonds back." Hughes said, as he sttod by the glass wall looking down into the squad room.. "We will have all the evidence we need to insure a conviction of Caffrey. Caffrey has to have already figured that out, he is going to be trying to get that puppy back."

"I know." Peter said. "I plan on the puppy staying at the bureau under the supervision of a probie. Caffrey's smart, so I don't want the puppy leaving the bureau unless a seasoned agent is with him."

"Not a bad plan, but it won't work."

"Why not, Sir?"

"We don't have a new agent here that is brave enough to take the puppy."

"Caffrey isn't dangerous." Peter said. "He's infuriating, immature, exasperating, and very aggravating. But he isn't violent."

"I wasn't referring to Caffrey." Hughes nodded towards the squad room and Peter followed his gaze. He saw El sitting in a chair, cuddling the puppy. "I doubt any of our seasoned agents are brave enough to confiscate that puppy from Elizabeth. I know I'm not." Then he smirked at the now frowning Peter. "Are you?"

"Not by a long shot." Peter replied with a sigh. "Looks like I have puppy duty."

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Half an hour later, Peter and El were sitting on a bench outside the bureau. The little yellow puppy was sitting in El's lap and she was gently scratching behind his ears.

"He is so adorable." She cooed.

"He's Caffrey's dog." Peter grunted. "There is nothing adorable about him."

"How can you say that?' El wanted to know, holding the puppy out for Peter to get a better look. "Take a look into this adorable face."

Peter looked at the puppy and had to admit that he was kind of cute.

"Hold him." El said.

"I've already held him, Honey."

"Come on Peter." El said, holding the puppy out further to her husband. "Hold him and look into those beautiful eyes."

Peter sighed, but reached out and accepted the puppy. He held him out in front of him and again had to admit that he was cute, maybe even adorable. He was about to hand the puppy back to his wife, when a yellow stream of liquid hit him in the chest and ran down the front of his suite.

"That does it." Peter glared at the puppy. "I am taking you to a vet and have those diamonds cut out."

"Peter." El scolded him, as she took the puppy back and cuddled him. "Don't be mean to this baby."

"He just peed on me." Peter defended himself.

"He's a puppy." El said, standing up and stalking off back into the federal building in a huff.

"El." Peter called after his retreating wife, but she kept walking.

"Great." Peter muttered. "Caffrey probably put him up to that." Then he too went back into the building, and straight to the showers.

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Across the street, hidden behind a brick wall, Neal Caffrey was doubled over laughing. People walking by gave him strange looks, but that did not slow the laughter.

"Way to go Pup." He managed to say between his laughs.

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After his shower and change into a clean suite, Peter walked into his office and saw Elizabeth sitting in a chair in front of his desk. The puppy was running around the room playing. A bowl of food and water were sitting against one wall, and several chew toys were scattered around the room.

The puppy would run to one, bark at it and wag his tail, then pick it up with his mouth and shake it. Then he would drop that one and run to another, then start the process again.

"Are you still mad at me?" Peter asked.

"Of course not." El replied, standing up and kissing him. "I know you would never hurt Satchmo."

"Satchmo?"

"Yeah, isn't it a cute name?"

"Honey." Peter said, gently taking her hands into his and looking into her eyes. "That is not our dog, you shouldn't get attached to him."

"We could adopt him." El said, smiling.

"No way." Peter shook his head.

"Come on Peter, if we don't then he will be sent to a dog pound. He needs a home."

"No."

"How could you be so heartless?'' El asked, glaring at him.

"He's Caffrey's dog." Peter said, as thought that explained everything.

"Neal Caffrey can not care for a puppy while on the run." El said, a very determined look on her face. Peter knew that look, he knew he didn't stand a chance. But that did not stop him from trying.

"El, there is no telling what kind of bad habits Caffrey has taught him."

"Peter." El said, turning her glare up a notch.

"He probably has distemperment, rabies, and fleas."

"This adorable puppy does not have any of those things."

"I wasn't talking about the puppy."

"Peter." Once again El glared at him.

"Fine." Peter sighed. "We have been talking about getting a dog for a while now."

"Thanks Honey." El smiled, then kissed Peter.

"But if he pees on me one more time, I'm shooting Caffrey."

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Neal stood in the hallway of the Federal Building, watching as El walked into the ladies room. The small puppy was trotting along right bedside her. Neal looked around, making sure no one was watching him.

He was dressed as a janitor and was pushing a broom, pretending to be sweeping the floor. A couple minutes after El entered the ladies room, Neal slipped into the room. He saw the woman standing in front of the row of sinks, drying her hands on a paper towel. Neal leaned the broom against the wall and stuck a hand into his jacket pocket, making it look as if he had a gun.

"Don't scream and I won't hurt you." Neal said, causing El to jump and spin around to face the young man.

"Caffrey?" She recognized him from the many surveillance photos her husband had of him.

"I just want the puppy." He said, as the little puppy ran over to him and looked up at him while happily wagging his tail.

"You must be insane walking into the FBI bureau." El said.

"I didn't have much of a choice, your husband stole my puppy."

"Come here Satch." El ordered. The puppy looked at her, then at Neal. But didn't move.

"Now Satch." She ordered more sternly. The puppy whined a little, but then turned and trotted over towards her.

"Come here Pup." Neal called out, causing the puppy to stop halfway between him and El.

"Satch." El said.

"Here Pup."

"Will you leave Satch alone?" El asked Neal with a glare.

"What kind of name is Satch?" Neal wondered out loud.

"It's better then calling him Pup."

"You've got a point." Neal flashed a charming smile. "There is no need to argue, I promise to return him to you in a few days."

"After you have the diamonds?"

"What diamonds?' Neal asked, with an innocent look.

"Satch stays here." El said firmly.

"This gun says he goes with me."

"You don't have a gun, you don't carry guns."

"I see your husband has spoken of me." Neal removed his hand from his pocket.

The puppy sat on the floor, still halfway between them. His eyes darted back and forth between the two humans.

"Sorry, Ma'am." Neal said, walking to the puppy. "He goes with me."

El ran past Neal and grabbed the broom that he had been pushing.

"You leave Satch alone." She ordered, then swung the broom and hit him in the stomach with it.

"Hey!" Neal protested, taking several steps back. "Knock it off."

"With pleasure." She said, swinging the broom towards the man's head.

Neal duck and then tried to grab the broom, but missed. El swing the broom again with all of her strength, but Neal moved back in time and the broom missed him. The force of the swing caused El to loose her footing and she stumbled forward into one of the stalls. Neal quickly scooped up the puppy, then ran from the bathroom.

El ran after him, shouting. Several agents rushed over and she told them that Caffrey was there.

"El." Peter said, rushing towards her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Did he hurt you?"

"Caffrey isn't violent, remember." El said. "He didn't touch me, but I tried my best to touch him with a broom."

"Did you make contact?" Peter asked with a small smile.

"Once. Peter, I'm sorry he got Satch."

"It's okay, Sweetheart." Peter said. "We still have him on bond forgery."

"He said he'd return Satch." She said.

"I'm sure he will."

/

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Five days later, Peter and El were snuggled together on the sofa watching tv. Both groaned when the doorbell rung.

"I'll get it." Peter said, standing up. He walked to the door and opened it, frowning at what he saw. There was a large basket with a small puppy inside it.

"Who is it Peter?" El's voice asked.

"Satchmo." Peter said, picking the basket up and taking it into the house.

El jumped off of the sofa and rushed over to her husband, picking the puppy up and cuddling him.

"Hey, boy." She said, smiling.

Peter sat the basket on a nearby table and took a note out of it.

"Dear Mrs. Burke." He said, reading the note. "As promised, I am returning Satch. I sincerely apologize for my lack of gentleness the other day; I assure you that I did not intend to harm you in any way. I know that you will take excellent care of the puppy; he deserves a good home filled with love. P.S. Tell your husband better luck next time. Sincerely yours, Neal Caffrey."

"You see, Peter." El said. "Caffrey has some good qualities."

"I guess." Peter grumbled, still not happy about the fact that the younger man had gotten away yet again.

"Look into Satch's eyes." El said, holding the puppy out to her husband. "They will put you in a better mood."

Peter took the puppy and held it in front of him. And then once again, a yellow stream of warm liquid hit his chest and slid down. El quickly took the puppy back, as Peter's face turned red with anger.

"Where are you going?" El asked, as Peter turned abruptly and stomped up the stairs.

"To change." He said. "Then I'm going to find Caffrey. He may not carry a gun, but I do."

"Don't worry, Satch. She said, cuddling the puppy. "Your new Daddy isn't usually this moody."

"El." Peter's voice filtered down. "Where's my extra bullets?"

THE END

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Please let me know what you think.


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